Blogging from A to Z Challenge - 2012

I’ll never be accused of not going all-in whenever I commit to something,
and that’s perfectly illustrated by my participation in this year’s A to Z
challenge.The brain child of Arlee Bird
of Tossing it Out, it began
with his post from Saturday March 27, 2010 when he set forth a challenge to all
bloggers for the month of April.Could
they post every day except Sundays during that month?And to make things even more interesting, could
they do it thematically from A to Z?Nearly 100 bloggers took the challenge that year, and it exploded to an
amazing 1,300 last year.I chose not to
participate in either those previous years, but as part of my 2012 resolution
to make things uncomfortable in my comfort zone, not only am I jumping into the
fold, I’m one of the co-host. *GULP* I tell people that one of the reasons I
started this blog was to keep writing as much as possible, so I’ve decided to
put my words where my mouth is.:)

For the few who don’t know how it works, it’s really very simple. Most of
the time if you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days--one day for
each letter of the alphabet.When April
1st lands on a Sunday (like it does this year) you begin on that day which will
be the only Sunday you would post during the challenge.

Using this premise, you would start beginning April 1st with a
topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic
with the letter B as the theme, and so on until you finish on April 30th
with the theme based on the letter Z.It
doesn't even have to be a word--it can be a proper noun, the letter used as a
symbol, or the letter itself.The theme
of the day is the letter scheduled for that day.

But perhaps even better than the fun, will be the usefulness of the
exercise.Several times I've read where
bloggers said they couldn't think of anything to blog about.Writers often engage in exercises which involve
prompts, or suggestions for topics.There are books, blogs, and websites devoted to providing prompts to be
used as topic ideas.Using the letters
of the alphabet you can just think up words for each letter and pick one to
write about.If you're still stumped
scan a dictionary or encyclopedia.Come
on!--the prompts are everywhere.And the
posts are generally short and sweet, so you don’t worry about having to come up
with a mammoth thousand word post every day.

As a co-host it’s my job to help spread the word, encourage participation, offer
idea’s in case someone is stuck on a letter, and basically keep the pot
stirred.In preparation I’ve already
written and stored away some letter themed post and by the time April rolls
around I should have most of the month covered.

Registration doesn’t start until January 30th, but we are all
spreading the word beginning today.How
about it?Are you up for a
challenge?Who wants to come out and
play?

I doubt I'll be joining up - but I will definitely cheer from the sidelines! The daily blogging wouldn't be a problem for me, but keeping up with commenting would be - April is a crazy month for me. I don't feel like I could do it justice. But I'll dig out some pompoms!

Hey! Nice to get a look at your place! I'm liking it! You did a great job introducing and enticing others to come play with us. It's going to be a great time! Just so you know, I'm famous for my popcorn (in a real pan, with peanut oil and popcorn from a 50# restaurant supply store bag o corn. I'll be making enough for all of us, just bring your own beverage. Unless you'd like to drink my box-o-chardonnay. I keep one in the fridge. Tina @ Life is Good

I don't know if I have the testicular fortitude for such an event. Then again, I have trouble making it all the way through the buffet line at the Chinese restaurant, so I guess that's not saying much.

I did this last year, but I started late, and didn't plan at all..just kind of went by the seat of my pants every day...but it was a lot of fun!!! Someone mentioned popcorn,now I have to make some...oh yeah, great to meet you!

Hey DL, just wanted to say thank you for being a co-host! A-Z is why I started blogging. I saw something about it last year on Facebook and decided to jump in. Best decision ever! I can't wait for April and can't believe that will mark my ONE year blogging anniversary. :-)